Aston Villa slipped to a 2-0 defeat at home against Arsenal on Saturday night.
It was a cagey first-half performance from both sides but Aston Villa had arguably the best chance to score through Ollie Watkins.
He was teed up inside the box while unmarked and uncharacteristically placed his shot wide of the target.
In the second period, the game livened up a bit more and Watkins had another guilt-edged opportunity to score but his diving header produced a world-class reaction save from David Raya.
If that had gone in, the game could have been completely different but this livened up the Gunners and the substitution of Gabriel Martinelli for Leandro Trossard changed the complexion of the match.
Trossard scored almost instantly after coming on with a crisp drive into the corner and then Arsenal netted a second through Thomas Partey, as Emi Martinez palmed his long-range effort into the net.
Unai Emery will have been disappointed to see his side lose a game where they had some great opportunities to score.
Here’s how the players rated…
Aston Villa player ratings vs Arsenal
Emi Martinez – 6.5
Produced a brilliant save to deny Bukayo Saka in the first half and prevented him in the second but couldn’t stop Leandro Trossard’s low drive into the bottom right corner and should have done better to prevent Thomas Partey’s long-range strike.
Matty Cash – N/A
Villa were forced into substituting Matty Cash inside 15 minutes and at that point, he’d only touched the ball eight times and completed five passes.
Ezri Konsa – 6
A solid presence at the back for Villa for most of the game but couldn’t help prevent Arsenal scoring their two goals and will have been disappointed by that.
Pau Torres – 6.5
Pau Torres wasn’t up to his usual high standards in possession and some of his long passes went astray, which was out of character for the Spaniard.
Lucas Digne – 5
This type of game didn’t suit Digne, who likes to maraud down the left flank and impact the game in attack but he was instead forced to defend Bukayo Saka. That is arguably the most unenviable task in the Premier League and both goals came from his side.
Youri Tielemans – 6.5
Starting to form a solid partnership with his international teammate Onana. Controlled the flow of the game brilliantly in midfield. Never looked hurried in possession and rarely made the wrong pass. A typical Tielemans performance.
Amadou Onana – 7
Followed up his Man of the Match display against West Ham with another towering performance against the Gunners. He had more defensive responsibility this evening but he still got through some incredible work, breaking up play and holding his own against Odegaard.
Leon Bailey – 6
Bailey didn’t have his best game in a Villa shirt. Did look threatening when he received the ball but lacked his usual cutting edge in the final third.
Morgan Rogers – 8
Rogers was simply Villa’s best player on the pitch. Every time he got the ball, he struck the fear into Arsenal, who couldn’t live with his searing pace and power. He should have had an assist when he teed up Watkins but this was another performance that proved what a magnificent talent he is.
John McGinn – 6.5
Villa’s midfield machine put in his usual tireless shift. Couldn’t fault how strong he was defensively however, there weren’t many of his lung-bursting runs going forward.
Ollie Watkins – 5
It was another evening of struggle for Watkins. Normally a reliable presence for Villa in front of goal, the striker spurned a golden opportunity on 25 minutes when he rolled the ball wide while unmarked in the box. Then missed a point-blank header from close range as he forced David Raya into a world-class save.
Substitutes
Kosta Nedeljkovic – 6.5
Was introduced into the action inside 15 minutes as he replaced the injured Cash. Stood his ground brilliantly when tested by Gabriel Martinelli but struggled up against Trossard, who made a massive difference form the bench.
Jhon Duran 6.5, Jacob Ramsey 6, Ian Maatsen 6, Ross Barkley 6.
